


And Many More

by carpelucem



Series: 2013 Ficlet Advent [16]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Birthday, Gen, The fluffiest fluff, the whole gang - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-07
Updated: 2014-01-07
Packaged: 2018-01-07 20:29:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1124053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carpelucem/pseuds/carpelucem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They didn’t celebrate birthdays on Asgard, for to celebrate a mere day, a blink of an eye, a handful of over a million similar sunrises seemed extravagant, even to Thor’s mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And Many More

**Author's Note:**

> Handwaved a little on a few birthdays, I tried to search out as many precise dates as were available.

There were customs on Earth that fascinated and amused Thor, things that never occurred on Asgard or any of the other realms he’d occupied. 

The internet amused Thor, for the technology was a little dated, compared to Asgard’s data streams, but the wealth and breadth of information available was astounding. The YouTube was Thor’s favorite website, the videos of animals and songs and humans pushing their bodies to extraordinary limits were terribly entertaining. It was not a singular occurrence that Thor had opened the site at some point during the day, only to find that when he looked up, the skies had darkened and night had fallen. 

Time was that way, on Midgard, marked in days and nights, weeks and months, rather than decades and centuries. Thor had become so accustomed to the grand scope of the universe, to worlds where beings lived thousands of years, that the mere idea of a hundred years if one was lucky was entirely novel. It was also frightening to Thor, in that a season of growth and harvest in Asgard was commonplace to him, but would account for a healthy chunk of one of his friends’ lives on Earth. 

He supposed that was why birthdays were such a joyful occasion for him to behold. To celebrate a mere day, a blink of an eye, a handful of over a million similar sunrises seemed extravagant, even to Thor’s predisposition to luxury as a prince of Asgard. 

But he was on Earth to learn the ways of the humans, to assimilate to their traditions, so Thor learned the dates of each of his teammates’ birth, had the JARVIS input them in an alert system for him to access, and eagerly awaited them. 

Thor came to understand, over the course of a year, that there was no one way to celebrate, that each of them marked the day of their births in very different ways.

Tony’s birthday was in May, and in typical fashion, Miss Potts had organized a grand celebration. There was a banquet worthy of any feast on Asgard, a ballroom with a cake the size of an entire table. The festivities were raucous, complete with drunken brawls and gaming, and Thor was rightly impressed by the spectacle, as he didn’t realize humans were inclined to such lavish parties. He began to eagerly await Steve’s birthday, which was next on his calendar. 

Steve preferred a more quiet gathering, an outdoor meal he shared mostly with the small circle of their team and loved ones, but as his birthday fell on the same day as that of their country, Thor was mesmerized by the fireworks as it drew to a close. (Thor was sure that the name Captain America and Steve’s birthdate couldn’t be a coincidence, and thought the massive display only fitting for someone who had fought so bravely for the land of his birth.) 

Despite the loss of her actual date of birth, Natasha had listed her birthday in October, and Thor thought it suited her, as she had chosen for them to journey to a small cabin set on a lake in the northern part of New York to celebrate the day. The trees surrounding the water were as brilliant and dynamic as Natasha herself, the calm chill was steady, and Thor couldn’t help but agree that her choice was fitting. 

It was appropriate that a man whose tendency to turn giant and green on occasion was born near the earthly Christmas holiday, a time marked by boisterous cheer, the proliferation of red and green, and a giant tree in New York, the scale close to that of the Hulk himself. Bruce, however, chose to spend his birthday in central America, offering his services and medical supplies to a small village. He’d invited the team along, and watching Bruce administer care to a small child was the perfect example of the man Thor had come to know, the opposite of his Hulk counterpart. 

Clint’s birthday was buried in the cold days following the New Year, and he preferred not to really mark the occasion at all, outside of a breakfast with the team. The Hawk was a private man, and Tony mentioned in passing that not everyone chose to celebrate. Still, Thor made a point to express his gratitude for Clint’s friendship in a moment alone together, and ask if Clint would be willing to sometime aid in Thor’s training with his beloved bow and arrows, and the smile Clint bestowed upon him was more than enough.

There was a long span between Clint and Tony’s birthdays, and Thor spent the next several months anticipating the spectacle that would occur for Tony’s next party. On a sunny weekend in April, Steve informed Thor that they had a training exercise on the west coast, and to pack enough of his belongings for a few days away. 

Though the weather was pleasant in New York, the spring flourishing steadily along, when he stepped off the plane after a night’s rest, Thor appreciated how lovely California was. He missed the constant sunshine of Asgard, the lack of snow and ice, and the warmth, and he was reminded of that as they drove through the city. 

As they arrived at Tony’s rebuilt home, Thor stared longingly at the crashing waves, the ocean lapping at the cliffs beneath them. They dispersed into bedrooms, and Thor found a set of athletic garments on the bed, with a card asking him to ‘suit up and meet the rest of us ASAP’ in Tony’s distinctive scrawl. He couldn’t imagine the training that might occur in clothing such as that in his chamber.

The material was flexible, clinging to his skin, similar in design to Steve’s fight suit, and Thor was not used to being attired as such. He was slightly uncomfortable striding through the halls in such clothing, but when he arrived in the living room, he noticed the rest of the team was similarly outfitted. 

"Ready?" 

Thor wanted to inquire as to their destination, the purpose of their journey, their clothes, but the view was far too absorbing. The twisting highway afforded stunning views of the coast, and Thor’s nose was nearly pressed to the window the entire ride. The ocean was calming in New York, but an entirely different beast. Here, the water swelled and broke, foamed onto the shore with fierce purpose, tides relentlessly beating the sand. 

He longed for Mjolnir in his hand, to call upon the same primal surge of energy that controlled the ocean for a storm, to coerce the wind and lightning to whip the water into a frenzy.

It was magnificent, and he missed Asgard so. 

Then the cars pulled off the road, into a narrow clearing, carved into the bluff. 

Thor followed his friends down a winding path to the beach. Six boards awaited them, along with a tall man, attired in the same clothing as Thor and his team.

He smiled at the six of them, gestured to the waxed wooden planks and then the sea. “Who’s ready to surf?” 

It was exhilarating, being in the water, riding the swells, feeling the waves break around him. The first few hours had been slightly tedious, learning to paddle and balance on the surfboards, but the instructor was patient, and all of the athletic training they had endured the last year was put to good use. 

Thor had a brief moment where he wondered what type of mission would leave them to use such skills, but Coulson seemed to belief the greatest weapon was preparation (Thor disagreed, but understood, as Coulson had never held Mjolnir), and had ordered their training to encompass a wide variety of activities. This was likely just one more to draw from. 

After what felt like mere moments in the water, but what was likely hours if he considered the number of times he’d paddled out and glided in towards the shore, Thor noticed Steve on the beach, waving at him. Clint and Natasha were close, and Bruce and Tony clustered behind them, Sighing in resignation, Thor maneuvered his board easily towards them. (The instructor was impressed with his form, had made a point to compliment Thor on how well he handled the surfboard, it was pleasing to conquer when he saw how the others took a while longer to master the rhythm) 

Thor swiped his face with the towel Clint offered him when his feet hit the sand, and noticed the others had moved towards the trail where they had arrived. 

"Shall we depart?" Thor asked, trying to hide the disappointment. He’d felt free in the water, unfettered by the restraints of training with his human counterparts. Tapping into that natural energy of the waves was a familiar sensation to Thor, and he’d thoroughly enjoyed it. 

"Maybe in a while, I think Steve needed something." 

Thor shouldered the surfboard, walked beside Clint to where the others stood, shoulder to shoulder, in a line before him.

He was puzzled by their formality, the grave expression on their faces, was beginning to wonder if a missive had come through for an attack of some sort, when Tony’s face broke into a grin, and Natasha started to laugh, and the rest joined her. 

"My friends?" They parted, and behind them stood a table, piled with food and a small cake, unlit candles poking from the surface. 

"Happy birthday, Thor," Steve pronounced, taking the surfboard from Thor’s arms, and leading him forward. 

"But how?" Thor allowed himself to be directed, to take in the spread of delicacies they had procured for him, and the pile of neatly wrapped gifts.

"We contacted Heimdall," Bruce answered, the excitement at being able to use the meta-link he and Tony had been perfecting for inter-realm communication shining on his face. "He remembered celebrations in the spring, so we took a stab in the dark." 

Natasha approached, slipped her arm through his, plucking a grape from the tray before them. “And you were so enthusiastic about our birthdays-“

"Jarvis showed me your calendar," Tony piped in.

"That we wanted to do something for you," she finished.

Clint pulled a lighter from a bag and leaned forward, lighting the candles. “In this wind, they won’t last long, so make a wish.” 

Thor took in the sight of his friends, the people closest to him on Earth, and knew fortune had indeed favored him. His only wish, as he blew out the candles. was that they continue to celebrate together, for many years to come.


End file.
